


Along the Shore at Midnight

by prubun



Series: RusPru One-Shots [40]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood, Fisherman!Russia, Injury, M/M, Mer!AU, MerMay, MerMay 2020, Shark!Prussia, maritime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24423091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prubun/pseuds/prubun
Summary: As he neared the other entity, it submerged under the water and he felt every bad decision he'd made hit him at once when he noticed a dorsal fin coming toward him./One dark and stormy night, Ivan encounters an otherworldly creature injured near his lighthouse.
Relationships: Russia/Prussia
Series: RusPru One-Shots [40]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1401427
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	Along the Shore at Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> ** [Posted: May 28, 2020] **
> 
> I can't believe I started this before May and it took me the entire month to actually finish it. Anyway, I love shark!Gil; sharks fit his personality very well as they are fierce but also basically the cats of the ocean and love pets and cuddles. I have a whole AU that this fic takes place in but I'll get into in the endnotes of the fic, but for now, I hope you enjoy this one-shot for MerMay! 🦈
> 
> **TW: Blood. Injuries.**

The storm blew harshly, the wind causing the screen windows to crash against themselves, howling through the cracks in the stone. Rushing down the spiral staircase several floors from his room, Ivan grabbed a lantern and opened the door to his home, and the wind yanked the door open and nearly took him with it; potentially leading to a nasty tumble down the stairs leading to his old brick lighthouse, one that likely would end with him having a broken neck. Fighting against the strong wind, Ivan went down the stairs, gripping the wooden railing as he slowly made his way down. Bright flashes of lightning lit up the night sky, the sea stretching for miles in every direction except one, followed seconds later by piercing cracks of thunder. The sky rolled with dark clouds, but the moon shone behind them and cast an eerie glow on the land and sea that raged and crashed against the cliffside. 

He went down then turned to circle back around his lighthouse where he kept his boat and fishing supplies. The storm had rolled in so suddenly he hadn't had the time to tie things off correctly or even bring in his gear, now he was stupidly risking his life over a fishing pole and some trinkets. Wincing and bracing himself against the wind that pelted his face and body with heavy raindrops, Ivan finally reached the small dock. He placed his lantern down and kneeled to the wood. Looking around, he saw that his small fishing boat had capsized and knew that everything inside had been thrown into the water. A pang of frustrated grief hit him but he shook his head and forced himself to focus on securing his boat. He reached over, grabbed some rope, yanked on it, and caused one side of the boat to lift.

That's when Ivan saw it — A sudden flash in the water, like light reflecting off of a shiny surface, then it was gone. But it _moved_ ; he swore it did. There was a moment of silence even amongst the raging storm, then he felt something. Like something bumped into his boat and caused it to tug on his hands. It wasn't natural from the storm or a wave and it caused a knot of dread and dangerous curiosity to fill his belly.

Grasping his lantern with one hand, Ivan lowered it to the water and squinted his eyes harshly from the rain. He inhaled when he saw red coloring the surface, shifting and swirling with the dark water. He could tell it was blood. Something was near his boat, and whatever it was, it was hurt.

Against his better judgment, Ivan walked along the deck and onto the small shore and continued to pull the boat until it dug into the wet sand and stuck there. He tied the rope to a dock pole and then used his lantern to light the area again, even taking a few steps into the water. Despite wearing water-resistant boots, he could still feel the cold of the water seep in. His entire body was soaked from head to toe, rain trickled down his face, he could taste it in his mouth and it chilled him to the bone. Once again, he saw the flash of light. The lantern caught the reflection of something near his dock and his heart stopped. 

It looked like...eyes — shining back at him in the dark. 

Irrationally, he took a step toward it, despite every bone in his body telling him to run from whatever this was. The water reached his thighs and crashed against his body, the heavy wind nearly knocking him over. As he neared the other entity, it submerged under the water and he felt every bad decision he'd made hit him at once when he noticed a dorsal fin coming toward him.

"Wait!" he yelled while he threw his hand up. He knew it was a creature, not a human; words would have no effect here. 

The fin sunk into the water and Ivan thought just maybe his words did find purchase. However, seconds later he felt something rub against his leg. Far too big to be a fish and it didn't feel human. Turning slowly, he glanced down by his side and saw a thick tail rise to the surface. Pale, almost white, and a trail of blood flowing off of it into the water. On the surface of the water, he saw something he had never seen before. A...fish, but the tail faded and the flesh turned...human. He saw a stomach, a chest, and a face that looked so otherworldly, yet strangely human, again. As he examined it further, he saw gills weakly fluttering on the neck, the creature's eyes were closed and its mouth was panting softly.

Ivan knew he should have just left then and there; wanted to pretend that it was a bad dream, but as the creature floated away on the waves, he saw that something had pierced the thing's tail. It looked to be a — thankfully small — piece of wood. That's where the blood was draining from; it had completely impaled the flesh.

He waded through the water and gently held onto one of the creature's arms, which, to his surprise, felt like flesh. Ivan noticed the man's breathing was getting more ragged, so he acted quickly. He brought the creature to the edge of the water and laid him down on the sand, took his jacket off and his white shirt immediately became soaked in rainwater, then placed the jacket next to the wound. Slowly, he began to pull the piece of wood out. 

Ivan expected the creature to wake, but he did not expect the inhuman shriek of terror and pain that he heard from it, and least of all the sharp row of teeth that suddenly were embedded into his forearm. He felt warm blood trickle down his skin as he stared down at the creature in shock of pain, who was glaring up at him with sharp red eyes. More than anything, the creature looked scared.

"I...I'm sorry," Ivan apologized through the wind and rain. He swallowed back his pain and fought the urge to jerk away. "I want to help," he told him but didn't make any sudden movements. Ivan watched the other's face, how it twisted in pain but those terrified eyes were locked on Ivan. He felt those teeth dig just a bit deeper and Ivan let out a whimper, but the creature wasn't trying to get away, so Ivan held the piece of wood again, bracing his other hand on the thick tail, and began to ease it out. He regretted it immediately when the creature's teeth dug even deeper as a sickening noise of agony cried out from him. Both of them were in pain and bleeding but somehow Ivan felt worse for the other; even if it hurt more than anything he's ever felt but seeing the poor man's terrified and hurt expression just tugged on that bleeding heart of his — he always felt worse for everyone else even if he was suffering. 

Finally, the piece of wood was out, Ivan tossed it onto the ground, and began to wrap the tail with his jacket, using the sleeves to tie it in place. His vision began to get a little hazy and his head felt light; blood was still pouring from his wound as the shark man still had his teeth firm in his arm. Lightning crashed around them and it made him flinch, but even in his pain, he looked at the other and smiled.

"There, that's...done..." he mumbled. His eyes crossed and he fell over, the pain and blood loss making him faint.

Gilbert watched the man fall unconscious. As soon as Ivan began to fall, he removed his teeth and scanned the man worriedly, his lips stained and blood dripping from his teeth. It had been a long time since he last tasted human blood and it wasn't a taste he wanted to get used to. His hands came up to the man's arm in a frantic desire to help but he didn't know how to. How did humans fix their injuries? He never thought to even consider it when he'd rip into some fishermen who tried to capture him. With only his instincts to guide him, he leaned down and began to lick the blood from the wounds, feeling each indent of his teeth in his skin with his tongue. He didn't mean to hurt him — it was an instinctual reaction to pain and the thought that the man was going to hurt him, so he bit.

As his distraught eyes scanned over the man, he eventually landed on an idea when he felt his tail twitch in pain. Looking down, he saw the man's jacket wrapped around him to stop the bleeding. Taking a cue from him, Gilbert wanted to give that treatment to the man's arm, but he didn't wear clothing as humans did, so he looked at the man's torso and noticed his shirt. Gritting his teeth nervously, as if guilty over his thoughts before he even did anything, he grabbed Ivan's sleeve, then ripped it off of his arm. He mimicked how Ivan had wrapped his tail, though he found it hard to tie it once he did, and the blood was still seeping through the fabric. He frowned worriedly then looked out to the ocean, the waves crashing against the dock and rocks, rolling onto the shore to greet them.

Gilbert used his webbed, clawed hands to crawl to the water, then looked back at the human for a moment before he slithered into the ocean. The saltwater stung as it entered his wound but Gilbert grit his teeth and pushed through it; it wasn't the first time he'd felt that pain, and he had the scars to show it. How many times he'd been hooked, scratched, harpooned by humans who wanted to kill him for meat or sell for human entertainment, yet he found himself desperately wanting to help this one. 

Looking through the darkened water and moving slowly to keep the makeshift bandage on his tail, he looked for a cluster of seaweed. When he found some, he tugged them free and then headed back to the human. Crawling up beside him, his tail leaving an indent in the wet sand, Gilbert began to carefully wrap the kelp around the fabric to give it more protection, minding his claws along the man's flesh. Once he was done, he stared at the man, although he noticed that he was breathing a bit better now.

The storm was still raging, the wind picked up and the rain came down heavier. Gilbert at the very least knew that it wasn't good for humans to be out in the cold rain for too long. Looking around, he eyed the dock and then began to drag Ivan's body over to it. It was difficult on land, having to use one hand to drag the man, the other to pull himself across the sand, but eventually, he brought Ivan under the dock where he had at least some protection from the intense rain. Gilbert studied Ivan's face and how peaceful he looked; the man didn't look like he was in pain at all but Gilbert knew that his teeth hurt, so he had to wonder why the man had such a blissful expression. Gilbert lifted his hand, hovering it above Ivan's face with an impulse to touch and inspect, but a flash of lightning froze him. Slowly, he put his hand down, took a deep breath and let it out, then slithered back into the water.

The storm passed in the night and gave way to a partially cloudy sky. Rays of sunlight flickered through the cracks of the dock, dancing across Ivan's face below. He stirred awake and his body hurt; he felt cold and wet — immediately shivering as he woke. Sitting up, he clutched his arms in his hands and immediately felt the dried kelp, jolting from the unexpected feeling. He first looked around at where he was, realizing he was under his dock, but then he looked down and examined the kelp and felt the dull pain of the bite underneath it, and noticed that most of his sleeve had been ripped off and used as a makeshift bandage. It didn't take him long to figure out that someone helped him, even in his sleep-fogged state and he had an idea of who.

"Are you still there?" he asked to the air, eyes scanning the area but expected no answer. A moment of silence went by and he heard nothing. Just as he sighed and closed his eyes, there was a soft shifting in the water. As he opened his eyes, he saw a pale hand holding onto one of the supports beams under the dock, then a familiar face peeked around. Gilbert's eyes were worried, brows furrowed despite not having eyebrows, obvious that he was hiding. Regardless of the scared look on his face, Ivan offered a soft smile. 

"You helped me, didn't you?" he asked, but Gilbert retreated a bit and frowned.

"I'm sorry," Gilbert finally spoke, though his voice sounded haggard. Ivan's eyes widened.

"Why?" he inquired and then pointed to his arm. "For this?" The shark nodded guiltily. "Don't be, I can barely feel it now, and you wrapped it for me, didn't you?" Gilbert nodded again and Ivan smiled, although he told a white lie — the salt on the kelp had seeped through his sleeve and stung the wound, but didn't want to alarm the other even more. "How is your tail?" he asked.

His question made Gilbert dip under the water; his dorsal fin glided through the surface closer to Ivan, then he popped up again. In the sunlight, Ivan was able to get a better look at the man, though maybe it was wrong to call him that. He was a Mer — one Ivan had never seen before. He was very pale, flesh almost white, with light red eyes, his white hair short and slicked back with water and showed his forehead. His ears were pointed and seemed to shift and twitch as Ivan spoke, curious like a cat. 

Gilbert thrust his body up onto the shore near Ivan's feet, crawling toward him a bit on his inhuman hands. The sight was a bit unnerving for Ivan, but he saw the expression on the other's face, how he looked hurt and upset — confused. Gilbert brought his tail up, curved it around himself in a semi-circle, and showed Ivan. His tail was thick, a slightly darker shade of grey than his human skin, littered with other scars and marks just like his torso that Ivan could only guess the causes of, and had all the fins a shark would — front and rear dorsal fins, pelvic fins, and a long caudal fin which made up the end of his tail. As his eyes trailed down the man's body, he noticed that the crude bandage made by his jacket had slid down his tail and was bunched up against his caudal fin, he wound itself gnarly and gross.

"I...I can get better stuff to help," Ivan said and moved to stand up, but one of Gilbert's hands grabbed his wrist, claws lightly poking against his skin. Gilbert's other hand reached out to grab Ivan's injured arm by the wrist as well and pulled it toward him in a quick movement that made Ivan winch slightly.

"Help you— First," Gilbert spoke in broken speech, his voice quiet, raspy; Ivan was unsure if that was just his voice or if it was strained from pain. 

For a moment Ivan stared at him. The realization that the shark man just spoke to him in his language and could properly communicate opened up a lot of possibilities. Yet he watched those red eyes stare back at him, water cascading down his face, the gills on his neck fluttering more steady now. There was something so amazing about staring face-to-face with this magnificent creature that made Ivan feel humbled and honored. He nodded in acknowledgment and Gilbert removed his hands.

"Stay near the dock, okay? I'll be back soon," Ivan told the other and then stood up. He didn't realize how sore his body was until he put weight on his legs. He stumbled but felt something push against his side and arm; Gilbert put his webbed hands against Ivan to support him and wore a somewhat nervous smile on his face. His teeth were sharp and pointy, inhuman, but even with how scary it would be, Ivan found it comforting — like the man was showing trust in him.

Retrieving the now snuffed lantern from the previous night, Ivan began to walk up the small incline to get back to the path. He took a glance back to the other to make sure he was alright; he saw Gilbert shifting his tail, grimacing at it, then looked to Ivan for a moment and held his hand up in a stationary wave. Ivan smiled, chuckling to himself as he shook his head in amusement, and then made his way up the path. 

His mind raced with each step he took, getting further and further away from the most magical thing he'd ever experienced in his life. His sister used to tell him stories of merfolk and other fantastical beings, but he'd never encountered one himself; and never heard of shark mer either, though he wasn't sure why he was surprised that they exist. As he climbed the stairs of his lighthouse, clutching his wounded arm, he began to wonder just why this shark man was here, what happened to him, where was he going. Sharks in general weren't common so close to shore, and he wondered if he was lost, and of course, what happened to his tail; how did he get injured?

Ivan smiled, excitedly moving just a bit faster so he could return to the other and learn more about him.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Thank you for reading!**  
>  Please leave a comment and kudos if you enjoyed! 💕
> 
> I love the kind of creepy maritime aesthetic so much — old lighthouses, the docks, the smell of the sea, the jangling of fishing equipment, and of course a storm just builds the atmosphere so much. I had a lot of fun writing this, especially the first half.
> 
> So about the AU I mentioned at the top. My idea was that, continuing from this fic, Gilbert sticks around Ivan's lighthouse and becomes his friend; he learns that Ivan is a relatively poor fisherman who can barely make a living, so he helps Ivan fish; follows him out on his boat and catches fish for Ivan to eat or sell, and generally just keeps him company, as Ivan is also very lonely being a lighthouse keeper. Gilbert also collects things from sunken ships like jewelry or valuable items for Ivan to sell. Also, Ivan teaches Gilbert how to speak more properly so he can communicate better over time, and the two become close companions.
> 
> **—**
> 
> **Social links:** <https://linktr.ee/prubun>


End file.
